Over 7,000 children have contracted measles and at least 111 have died of the disease since it recurred in Vietnam late last year, much higher than reported by the Ministry of Health last week, a central hospital director announced Wednesday.

>> Vietnam ministry quadruples child mortality from measles to at least 108, epidemic declaration pending

These latest figures were revealed by Dr. Nguyen Van Kinh, director of the Central Tropical Diseases Hospital in Hanoi, after attending a closed-door meeting on April 16 with the representatives of the World Health Organization, Bach Mai Hospital, Dong Da Hospital, and the Hanoi Department of Health. Compared to the respective figures released by the health ministry seven days ago, Dr. Kinh’s numbers are two and four times higher. Given such statistics, Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Kim Tien still asserted that her ministry has not tried to hide the real situation of the disease. At a press conference on April 10, Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long reported that the death toll was only 25. Trying to justify the discrepancy among the figures, Minister Tien said these 25 deaths were really caused by measles, while the remaining patients died after they had contracted other diseases before they had measles. Following the closed-door meeting, Dr. Kinh said that measles has spread to 61 of the country’s total of 63 provinces and cities.  Measles can cause rapid immunodeficiency, leading to other ailments, including pneumonia and diarrhea, which can be very serious and even cause death, said Tran Dac Phu, head of the ministry’s Preventive Health Department. In order to avoid contracting measles, all children aged 9 months to three years old must be vaccinated against the disease, the department said, adding that children with high fever, continuous coughing, runny noses, and rashes on their bodies should be taken to hospital for immediate examination.Hanoi accounts for 50 percent of mortality Yesterday Minister Tien visited the Hanoi-based Central Pediatrics Hospital, where a large number of children with measles are being treated. Health authorities estimated that the capital has occupied about 30 percent of the number of measles patients and 50 percent of the deaths from measles complications nationwide. Meanwhile, as many as 100,000 children in the northern hub have yet to be vaccinated against measles, a benign disease which can cause serious complications that may lead to death, said Nguyen Nhat Cam, director of the Hanoi Preventive Health Center. Asked by reporters if Hanoi is going to declare the measles an epidemic, while the illness may continue to spread there, Minster Tien said this issue depends on local health authorities. “Director of the Hanoi Health Department Nguyen Khac Hien has said he will consult the city government about whether Hanoi will make such a declaration,” the minister said. As the measles situation has become more severe, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on Wednesday issued a message, urging all competent agencies and authorities to take measures to prevent the spread of the disease. He demanded the health ministry improve the efficiency of measles treatment to minimize the mortality.

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